The Roman Catholic Church of the Netherlands and the Dutch Reformed Church, oldest of the Dutch Protestant churches, with roots in the Reformation of the 16th century, announced today that they had agreed to recognize each other’s baptism.
This latest step toward church unity in the Netherlands was announced by Bernard Cardinal Alfrink, leader of the Dutch Roman Catholic hierarchy, and the Rev. Dr. Gerit de Ru, president of the General Synod of the Dutch Reformed Church, at a news conference here. … Read more »… À suivre »
by Robert O’Connor, Chicago Tribune Last December, Rev. David Armstrong, minister of the First Limavady Presbyterian Church, performed what in most parts of the world would have been a little noted act of courtesy: He exchanged Christmas greetings with a neighbor, the pastor of the local Roman Catholic church. Last week he left town. He … Read more »… À suivre »
by E. J. Dionne, New York Times Pope John Paul II celebrated his 65th birthday today before cheering crowds with talk of Christian unity and a stern warning to youth against the exploitation ”of our weaknesses and our passions.” John Paul, who has been criticized by some Protestant leaders for slowing ecumenical dialogue, called on … Read more »… À suivre »
In a letter described by religious leaders as “unprecedented,” Pope John Paul II told the presiding bishop of the Lutheran Church in America that Christian unity “continues as a priority in the Catholic Church today” and praised the agreements by joint Lutheran-Catholic theological commissions over the last two decades. The Pope’s letter came in response to a letter from Bishop James R. Crumley Jr. of New York, who wrote the pontiff May 22 asking him to encourage U.S. Roman Catholics to study the last report issued by the joint commission, a 21,000-word study on “justification by faith,” a key doctrine of the Protestant Reformation. … Read more »… À suivre »
by Bruce Buursma, Chicago Tribune The Vatican’s chief ecumenical officer called Monday for a new effort to draw Roman Catholicism and the World Council of Churches into a closer relationship, challenging a widening perception that the church’s commitment to cooperative Christian efforts is flagging. Johannes Cardinal Willebrands, the Dutch-born president of the Vatican’s Secretariat for … Read more »… À suivre »
by Kenneth A. Briggs, special to the New York Times [Vatican City] Johannes Cardinal Willebrands, head of the Vatican Secretariat for Christian Unity, called today for greater efforts to bring Roman Catholics and other Christians together. The Dutch Cardinal, speaking at a news conference in connection with the Synod of Bishops here, also said conditions … Read more »… À suivre »
Pope John Paul II acknowledged today that ”real differences” between Roman Catholicism and other churches are blocking progress toward Christian unity.
Speaking to leaders of other Christian faiths, the Pope also conceded that his church presents demands that complicate the ecumenical movement.
The Pope’s speech today was his first public statement on ecumenism since the leadership of the Church of England took the important step of saying it would accept some sort of papal authority in a unified church.
John Paul’s comments were also significant because New Zealand’s Catholics have been particularly energetic in pursuing ecumenical contacts. … Read more »… À suivre »
Pope John Paul II expressed strong support Monday for Christian unity but warned that Catholics had important disagreements with other churches that could not be compromised.
At an ecumenical service in a Christchurch Catholic cathedral, on the last day of his visit to New Zealand, the Pope said that despite progress toward unity there were still real and serious divisions in the Christian community.
The pontiff, winding up the fourth stage of a six-nation tour, said Catholic commitment to ecumenism was irreversible.
“At the same time I am aware that the Catholic participation makes new demands of the other churches and ecclesiastical communities taking part in the ecumenical movement,” he said.
“We are convinced that the goal is not simply partnership. It is nothing less than the fullness of communion in a visible organic unity. The ecumenical way cannot be one of reduction.” … Read more »… À suivre »
by James D. Davis, Fort Lauderdale Sun Sentinel The night before he died, Jesus prayed a strange, earnest prayer for his disciples — “that they may all be one, even as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee … that the world may believe that Thou didst send me.” The prayer was strange … Read more »… À suivre »
by George W. Cornell Working for Christian unity has become thoroughly institutionalized, a part of the organizational machinery of virtually every major church body and of liaison units among them. But as the special week, Jan. 18-25, approaches when Christians around the world pray, as Jesus did, “that they may all be one … so … Read more »… À suivre »
by John Bolt, Ottawa Citizen ATLANTA – Roman Catholicism’s chief ambassador to other Christians is underscoring his church’s “passion for unity” and acceptance of other denominations as partner churches. Cardinal Johannes Willebrands, head of the Vatican’s Secretariat for Christian Unity, visited several eastern U.S. cities in May, emphasizing “substantial progress” toward the goal and Rome’s … Read more »… À suivre »
by Russell Chandler, Los Angeles Times With the announcement that Protestant and Eastern Orthodox participants will join in an ecumenical meeting with Pope John Paul in Columbia, S.C., in September, the U.S. National Council of Churches has urged Christians “seize the moment” for renewed efforts toward Christian unity. A three-page statement welcoming the Pope on … Read more »… À suivre »
The Catholic and Anglican churches have been conducting joint studies of doctrine for the past 17 years. The purpose is to explore the essential teachings of each church to see if there is enough common ground for an eventual reunion. Both churches were once united in one western Christian church for 15 centuries. Their history of separation dates back four centuries to the time of the Reformation. The joint studies began in 1970 and involved nine Roman Catholic scholars and nine from the Anglican communion. The joint panel was called the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, or the ARCIC. After 11 years of study, it published papers on three major topics of mutual and central concern; Eucharist, Ministry and Ordination as well as on Authority in the Church. … Read more »… À suivre »
by Patrick O’Driscoll, USA Today Young revelers rock the ballroom in a New Year’s Eve countdown. At midnight Thursday, the cheer goes up: “Happy New CHURCH!” How’s that again? While millions of us sing choruses of Auld Lang Syne to welcome 1988, some 1,600 Lutheran teens in Anaheim, Calif., will hum a hymn – on … Read more »… À suivre »
by Paul de Groot, Edmonton Journal [SASKATOON] Bishops of the Anglican and Lutheran churches embraced here Friday, symbolizing a new, closer relationship between their churches. “This is a thrilling and a tremendous time,” said Anglican bishop Walter Jones of Winnipeg, moments after the biennial convention of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada approved a new … Read more »… À suivre »
by Nick Lees, Edmonton Journal There was one sour note this week in Edmonton when 110 delegates met at the 7th National Institute on Ecumenism. “By and large, our Evangelical/Fundamentalist brothers and sisters remain very aloof from the ecumenical movement,” said Roman Catholic Bernard De Margerie, director of the Saskatoon Centre for Ecumenism. “In fact, … Read more »… À suivre »
from the Western Report 8, no.17 (1993): 44. Not since the Eastern and Western churches went their separate ways in 1054, with bitter reciprocal excommunications all around, has there been quite so much talk and hope for eventual reunification of the Christian world as there is today. “Ecumenism” has been a focus of much talk … Read more »… À suivre »
Pope John Paul II, in issuing a fresh initiative to promote Christian unity, has provided Protestants and Catholics a rare opportunity to work through long-standing theological differences in a modern context.
In North America, evangelicals and Catholic leaders say the pope’s invitation to examine together the role of the papal office is historic and significant. But there is disagreement on whether meaningful unity is achievable, even with the pope’s endorsement in the May 30 encyclical on Christian unity, Ut Unum Sint (“That They May Be One”). A common concern that Orthodox and Protestant believers share is opposition to the pope’s claim to a unique role in Christendom.
“The Catholic Church’s conviction that in the ministry of the Bishop of Rome she has preserved … the visible sign and guarantor of unity constitutes a difficulty for most other Christians, whose memory is marked by certain painful recollections,” the pope acknowledges. “To the extent that we are responsible for these, I join my predecessor Paul VI in asking forgiveness.”
Richard John Neuhaus, a Catholic priest and former Lutheran, now with the New York-based organization Religion and Public Life, says the statement is “historic” and “unprecedented.”
Neuhaus has formed an important link to the evangelical movement through working with Prison Fellowship’s Charles Colson. From this coalition emerged the controversial “Evangelicals and Catholics Together” (CT, March 6, 1995, p. 52). … Read more »… À suivre »
For those who wish to know the mind of the Pope on contemporary issues such as whether a non-Catholic can receive communion in a Catholic church, or a Catholic in a non-Catholic church, the answer is now available. Many Catholics, living next door to their non-Catholic friends, co-workers, and relatives, ask themselves these kind of … Read more »… À suivre »
CHICAGO (ELCA) — The 5.2 million members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America are gearing up to make some major decisions in 1997 about how they will relate to another 67.3 million Christians in the United States. The ELCA Church Council, meeting here April 12-15, studied proposals regarding closer relations with the Roman Catholic … Read more »… À suivre »
Read the 2015 joint statement of the Evangelical-Roman Catholic dialogue in Saskatoon, Called to Common Witness
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